| The Television Centre | |
|---|---|
 The Studio building in 1999 | |
  The Television Centre Location within Tyne and Wear | |
| Alternative names | City Road |
| General information | |
| Type | Television studios |
| Location | On City Road in the centre of Newcastle. Access from to offices and Studios 1-4 were separate to Studio 5., City Road,Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2AL |
| Coordinates | 54°58′20″N1°35′53″W / 54.972212°N 1.59799°W /54.972212; -1.59799 |
| Inaugurated | 1959 |
| Demolished | November 2009 |
| Owner | Tyne Tees Television |
The Television Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, also known by the street nameCity Road, was the headquarters and primary studio complex of theITV licensee for the North East region,Tyne Tees Television, between 1959 and 2005.
The studios were originally created from two furniture warehouses that had been purchased by the company in 1958 following their acquisition of the franchise. The warehouses were gutted, with the shell of the building being fitted out with studios, galleries, scenery block and offices for the company. Upon completion in 1959, four studios were fitted into the building. The practice of buying an older building and fitting it out as a studio complex was in fact a very common element of early ITV stations. Of the original companies, all with the exception ofGranada,Westward andBorder, converted existing buildings rather than building purpose built studios. The location was deliberately chosen by the company because of its proximity to thetelephone exchange in Carliol Square, as television signals to and from other ITV stations were relayed by land-line from the studios to the switching centre. The cost would have significantly increased if the connection was over a mile.[1]
In 1981, Tyne Tees built another studio - Studio 5, to cope with extra demand for programming for the soon to be createdChannel 4. The extension was designed byRyder & Yates and had the appearance of metal on the outside. The public entrance to the new studio was through a covered walkway from City Road, rather than by the closest road at the rear of the complex. This covered walkway, known as the 'Tube' inspired the name of themusic programme shown on Channel 4. Many network programmes were created here, and local programming was also produced. Production of network shows slowed after 1993, when Tyne Tees became part ofYorkshire-Tyne Tees Television.[1]
The merger was initiated due to the large costs incurred by both companies to retain their licences following the 1991 franchise round. Immediately following the merger, 150 employees were made redundant at City Road as part of cost-saving measures at YTTTV. The presentation departments, continuity announcers and numerous administrative and executive posts moved toThe Leeds Studios, home ofYorkshire Television. In addition, some productions moved to the Leeds Studios, leaving only minor productions and the local news service at City Road. The decline of programme-making in Newcastle was accelerated in 1997 whenGranada bought YTTTV.
Granada had previously made its intentions for City Road clear in the 1991 franchise round, in which Granada bid against Tyne Tees for the North East in the attempt to create one big Granada region covering the entire North of England. In these plans,Manchester would have been the centre of the operation, with Newcastle serving as a small news gathering operation. Following the merger, yet more departments were merged with those atGranada, and more productions were moved from City Road andThe Leeds Studios to Granada's base atThe Manchester Studios. The last major production wasCountdown, while its regular home at the Leeds Studios were being refurbished.
On 28 October 2002, the Tyne Tees brand was removed from network programming, with its on-screen identity reduced to a sub-brand of ITV. The continuity announcers that had served the region from Leeds since 1993, were themselves being reduced to six from London for the whole country.[2] The final announcement from Tyne Tees was as follows:
Well that’s just about it from me. As you may know our colleagues in London take over continuity from 9:25 this morning, so on behalf of our Northern Team, Helen, Neil, Maggie and Kerrie and all the past Tyne Tees announcers since 1959, this is Bob Preedy bidding you a fond farewell.
— Bob Preedy,Tyne Tees continuity announcer.[2]
The final nail in the coffin was Granada PLC's merger withCarlton Communications to formITV plc in 2004. This company now owned all the ITV franchises in England and Wales, and as such inherited the studio facilities of all these companies. Some facilities, likeLWT's London base,Granada's Manchester base andYorkshire's Leeds base were retained. Other facilities were sold off, such asAnglia's Magdalen Street Studio facility inNorwich andCarlton Central'sNottingham facility. However, other facilities were closed down with no prospect of sale. One wasMeridian's Southampton base and the other was Tyne Tees' City Road complex. The studio's fate had been sealed, taking 30 jobs with it.[2]
The final broadcast from City Road occurred on 1 July 2005 and was a final edition of North East Tonight. Mike Neville was joined in the studios by many of the Tyne Tees staff as they bid farewell to City Road. The following day, the news department andplayout facilities were relocated to Tyne Tees new, much smaller, headquarters, Television House, at The Watermark in Gateshead. The new facilities are deliberately streamlined and are now home to ITV SignPost andITV Border, following the 2009 merger of Border and Tyne Tees to formITV Tyne Tees & Border.[2]
City Road itself remained mainly empty after 2005, with a church briefly using Studio 5 in July 2006. However, the remainder of the site remained empty and neglected until November 2009, when demolition of the site began, starting with Studio 5 and ending with the main building along with the Egypt Cottage pub. It was all over by March 2010 with all areas of the site destroyed. The only parts of the site to remain were the former scenery store and Aerial House, a former office block that is now a standalone apartment block. This building was formerly topped by the distinctive TTTV transmission tower until its removal in 2017.
Student accommodation now occupies the site.
The studio complex contained five studios of varying sizes and uses.
Prior to 1981, the title 'Studio 5' was given to the two local pubs, theEgypt Cottage and theRose and Crown by the Tyne Tees employees and differed depending on employee popularity.[1]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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